Seven-Hour Pork: the ultimate slow food

Swedes living on the west coast of this lovely land have easy access to a great variety of fresh fish. Here on the east coast, we are not so lucky. The brackish waters of the Baltic offer up a more limited choice. Perhaps that explains the high consumption of meat in this part of the world. Not that I’m complaining; health-scares be damned. I love meat.

On Saturday we took a little tour in the country: our destination, a local pig farm selling outdoor-reared pork. If meat is the King of food here in Sweden’s eastern enclave, pork is the King-of-Kings. Of course, like elsewhere, you should avoid the cheap, mass (and rather cruelly) produced pork, sticking to proper outdoor-raised pigs instead; and you need to cook it right to avoid that classic dry-as-cardboard pork chop.

I found an old recipe the other day for pulled pork that I pulled out of a newspaper an age ago. Pulled pork is a classic slow-cooked barbecue dish that becomes so butter-soft that to serve, instead of slicing, you simply pull it apart into shreds with two forks; It’s a dish you must try at least once in your life.

The raw ingredients

You need a big piece of pork from a fairly fatty cut. I used boned shoulder. And you need time. Good pulled pork, proper pulled pork – the sort that is so soft and juicy you could slice it with a spoon – is not a dish you can hurry. In the world of slow food, pulled pork is the three-toed sloth. A good one takes around seven hours in the oven. But boy is it worth it.

Rubbed and ready to go

I served it in soft, white bread rolls with guacamole and red cabbage and apple coleslaw and I can safely say it was pretty much the most popular dish I have made this year.

Seven hours later: one of the finest dishes I have ever tasted

Pulled Pork

6 portions

Sauce:

4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste

2 tsp cumin

1 dl balsamic vinegar

1 dl brown sugar

1 dl soya sauce

2 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 dl tomato ketchup

2 onions, roughly chopped

Pork:

1 kg pork shoulder without bone

2 tsp salt

3 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp powdered ginger

Heat your oven to 110C

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl

In a separate bowl mix together all the dry ingredients for the pork to make a powdered rub

Cover the meat in this rub and knead it in with your fingers so it forms a coating over the surface of the meat

Place the meat in a roasting dish and pour in the sauce so it forms a ring around the meat

Put it in the oven and cook for six hours. Turn of the oven and leave to rest (in the oven) for an hour

Place the meat on a chopping board and pull apart and shred using two forks

Mix the shredded meat with the sauce and serve with bread, guacamole and/or coleslaw

Wow Rob this might be my favorite recipe so far will have to give it a go. It looks delicious. )

robhincks

It is amazing. You MUST try it

Monica-USA

I am it is in the slow cooker instead of the oven. Put it in at 6am this morning and it smells delicious.

Lola

I may try this one as well Rob! Recently got a crockpot for slow cooking.

Monica-USA

Well Rob this turned so delicious thanks for the recipe.

robhincks

Wow. I’m glad. You can make it for me next time I’m in Seattle

Rolopolo

Hi Rob

What is the Swedish name for Pork Shoulder ? – I have a summer house in Halsingland and really struggle with the “joint” names for meat – recipe looks great to try out on my Swedish neighbours !!

Thanks

Sarah

Rob Hincks

…is a British writer and editor who moved to Sweden in 2001. A former chef turned food and travel writer, he loves everything about food, but particularly the raw ingredients themselves. When not cooking, eating or thinking about food, he can often be found hanging around in butchers shops, fishmongers and grocery stores; a hobby he can pursue for hours on end. He hopes that writing this blog will take up so much time that it halves his food shopping bills.